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Further Workplace Health and Safety bosses will be grilled at the inquest into the Dreamworld disaster today, after a leading inspector admitted he had "no confidence" in the emergency procedures in place on the Thunder River Rapids ride.

Vic govt to analyse Black Saturday report

Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu says the government will take advice from a Black Saturday bushfires study which found clearing vegetation near homes more effective than burning off bushland.

A joint Australian-US scientific team that researched the deadly 2009 fires says vegetation must be cleared from around houses to reduce the toll of bushfires.

The scientists found that prescribed burning, one of many recommendations of the royal commission into the Black Saturday fires, did not provide the best protection.

They said clearing vegetation within 40 metres of houses was twice as effective.

Mr Baillieu said the 67 royal commission recommendations formed the backbone of the government's response to Black Saturday, but the new research would be analysed.

"The royal commission looked at these issues in some detail and we have acted on the royal commission's recommendations and I don't want to isolate any particular piece of research, but there's no doubt reducing the fuel load around any home is a priority," he told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday.

"I haven't seen that study. I'm sure that study will be looked at by CFA and other agencies and we'll take any further advice."

The report's senior author, Philip Gibbons from the Australian National University (ANU), said Black Saturday provided an unprecedented opportunity to learn about the effects of land management on the loss of homes.

While clearing trees and shrubs close to houses was identified as the most effective protection, the study found other measures still need to be taken.

"Intensive fuel reduction close to houses can be expensive, can have significant environmental and aesthetic impacts, and can be risky in some circumstances," Dr Gibbons said.

"Many of these issues can be avoided if new housing is not permitted adjacent to forests."

The team said it was critical for everyone in fire-prone areas to think about measures such as early evacuation, safer places and architectural solutions.

"No amount of fuel reduction will guarantee that a house is safe on extreme weather days like Black Saturday," Dr Gibbons said.

"Housing density in many bushfire-prone regions is increasing. So the next major bushfire will be even more devastating unless we continue to learn from Black Saturday."

The ANU, University of Wollongong and University of California report also said logging native forests did not contribute to reducing the loss of houses.

The Black Saturday fires killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2000 houses in February 2009.